Palimpsest

Category: research

  • Implementing a model as an R package

    Implementing a model as an R package

    In our research group we often have people creating statistical models that end up in publications but, most of the time, the practical implementation of those models is lacking. I mean, we have a bunch of barely functioning code that is very difficult to use in a reliable way in operations of the breeding programs. […]

  • Keeping track of research

    Keeping track of research

    If you search for data analysis workflows for research there are lots of blog posts on using R + databases + git, etc. While in some cases I may end up working with a combination like that, it’s much more likely that reality is closer to a bunch of emailed Excel or CSV files. Some […]

  • Financiamiento de investigación

    He pospuesto muchas veces este post, así es que va en su estado actual, incompleto, parcialmente digerido, como para empezar una conversación. Como investigador me beneficia decir que todos los países deberían investir (¿o será gastar?) más recursos en investigación. Mientras más grande sea el presupuesto, más probable es que me va a tocar una […]

  • Excel, fanaticism and R

    This week I’ve been feeling tired of excessive fanaticism (or zealotry) of open source software (OSS) and R in general. I do use a fair amount of OSS and pushed for the adoption of R in our courses; in fact, I do think OSS is a Good ThingTM. I do not like, however, constant yabbering […]

  • Should I reject a manuscript because the analyses weren’t done using open source software?

    “Should I reject a manuscript because the analyses weren’t done using open software?” I overheard a couple of young researchers discussing. Initially I thought it was a joke but, to my surprise, it was not funny at all. There is an unsettling, underlying idea in that question: the value of a scientific work can be […]